Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the Library’s Headlines blog, which you can also access via email subscription or RSS feed.
A bus fight between Seal Beach and Long Beach (KCET So Cal Connected)
Long Beach Transit has proposed ending all bus service between Long Beach and Seal Beach – unless Seal Beach wants to subsidize one of those lines. Why the cuts? Long Beach officials say ridership is poor and have also said that Seal Beach residents don’t want “people” from Long Beach in their city.
Divide and conquer on the 710 big dig (L.A. Streetsblog)
Editor Damien Newton suggests that some of the less popular alternatives offered by Metro as ways to improve traffic in the area around the 710 gap may be intended to show the public that a freeway tunnel is the best option. I honestly believe that the alternatives were an attempt to put everything on the table and not leave any stone unturned. Problem is, putting everything on the table is sure to mean putting some very unpopular — and perhaps unlikely — options out there.
The Panama Canal’s Miraflores Locks. Photo by Scott Ableman, via Flickr creative commons.
East Coast ports eye expansion as Panama Canal expands (New York Times)
Several ports on the East Coast think business will boom because of new locks being built on the Panama Canal, which will soon be able to accommodate much larger cargo ships. The theory is the ships could bypass ports on the West Coast in order to bring freight directly to East Coast markets. Not so quick, says some experts, who point out that it will still likely be quicker to bring cargo to the West Coast and then truck it or put it on trains for markets to the east. Also, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles can already handle the big boats.
Categories: Transportation Headlines
“putting everything on the table is sure to mean putting some very unpopular — and perhaps unlikely — options out there.”
I drove up Avenue 64 on Sunday and saw 45+ different signs in opposion to that route.
People are failing to realise that Metro and CalTrans have essentially “gone back to the drawing board”. The study is in a scoping phase, which is a far cry from “which part of South Pasadena gets the 710 through it?”. This is a phase in most engineering projects. I recently talked to an engineer that was invovled in the same phase of the Space Shuttle program, trying to figure out the various alternative forms and what are the dis/advantages of each.
It’s actually the alternatives analysis phase but your point is valid: it’s the time when trying to find the best option by considering all the options.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
“Long Beach Transit has proposed ending all bus service between Long Beach and Seal Beach – unless Seal Beach wants to subsidize one of those lines. Why the cuts? Long Beach officials say ridership is poor and have also said that Seal Beach residents don’t want “people” from Long Beach in their city.”
This is a fine example of government agencies not working together and playing games with our tax money.
If local governments can’t work together, we’re better off ending the stupid restrictions like “only municipal transit agencies can pick up passengers at bus stops” that hinder private enterprises to come to fruition in the mass transit market.